Ethan
I hadn't expected the day to start so… normal. And that, after everything I'd done yesterday, was saying something.
I woke up with a strange feeling in my chest. It wasn't exactly guilt… but it wasn't absolute peace either. It was something in between. A kind of silence after a storm that hadn't quite subsided yet.
I turned my head; Clara was still asleep. Her breathing was soft, calm. Her hair was tousled on the pillow. Her skin… warm, intimate. And there… everything settled a little, because this… this was certain.
I leaned down slightly and kissed her bare shoulder, slowly, without waking her completely. But she stirred, murmured something unintelligible, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Good morning…" I whispered.
She opened her eyes slowly, still sleepy.
"Good mornin
